What’s the best thing to do in a season of waiting? The prayer of waiting.

In Acts 1:4 Jesus tells his disciples this,

“Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about."

And so the disciples went to the place they were staying at in Jerusalem, in an upstairs room, and waited as Jesus had said. However, the one thing that Jesus didn’t tell them was what to do while they were waiting. What they chose to do, though, was pray.

Now, the promise that Jesus was talking about in verse four was His baptism. A baptism of power from the Holy Spirit. So, instead of waiting to see what would happen, they positioned themselves in prayer for when it happened.

The writer says that they were all united in, and devoted to, continuous prayer. Some translations even indicate that they had prayed all night and all day.

I believe that prayer itself may have been the unifying force as much as the decision to pray together was. That is to say, that there is power in choosing to unite in prayer, but the act of praying together in and of itself brings a unifying power.

I am not sure what that day might have looked like had they not decided to pray, but I do know that they were wise to "pre-prayer" themselves for that day.

If we recall in the gospels, Jesus had commissioned his disciples, before he ascended, to go into all the world and make disciples of all nations. However, on this day, when the Holy Spirit began to move on the people, the nations came to them.

Many who had gathered in the city (from all nations) for Pentecost heard the sound of the Spirit, and when they found the source, they heard the sound of the good news being declared in their own languages.

Isn’t it just like God to “bring” nations in a time when he had previously told the disciples to be ready to “go” to them?

Thousands were added as disciples of Jesus that day. We don’t know how many people remained in Jerusalem instead of returning home, but how much more effective was it to send disciples home to the nations and not only visiting missionaries?

We simply never know what waiting prayer can bring.

Blessings,

Dean